Half Of My Heart
by halfdragonblood
Summary: Draco Malfoy had changed, she noted. He was no longer that arrogant prick he used to be before the chaos of war consumed their lives. He was more quiet and reserved, often preferring to be alone than having company. Hermione Granger did not know what made her notice him so much now. Maybe due to pure curiosity or because of how broken and lonely he had seemed..
1. Chapter 1

All the previous 7th year students were allowed to return to Hogwarts to finish their studies as 8th year students. Many had chosen not to return, preferring to find jobs instead of continuing their studies.

It was not a surprise for the other students to see Hermione Granger on the train to Hogwarts. She was after all, the brightest witch of their age. They were however, surprised to see a certain platinum blonde boarding the train as well. Many had assumed the the youngest of the Malfoy family would not return considering his status as an ex-Death Eater and his family's previous involvement with the evil dark lord.

Draco had heard the whispers around him as he boarded the train but he chose to ignore them. He quietly sat in his seat and promptly ignored the glares thrown in his way by the two males of the Golden Trio as they passed him. He had expected the same reaction from the only female of the trio, but was greatly surprised when she nodded and offered him a small smile before trailing after her two best friends.

Hermione Granger did not know why she had smiled at him on the train that day and she sure as hell had no clue why she felt compelled to watch him now as he sat alone in the library, hunched over a book.

This was not the first time she caught herself staring at him. The first time she realized that she had been staring at him was when they were in the Great Hall. She had been busy trying to tune out the sound of one Ronald Weasley droning on and on about how professors are cruel for giving students homework on the first day when her sight settled on the blonde sitting at the Slytherin's table. She had not mean to stare, but she could not bring herself to stop when she saw how miserable and lonely he looked sitting by himself, eyes focusing only on his meal. Except for Zabini and Nott (they were nice enough to try to include him into their conversations), the other Slytherins seemed to try their best to stay away from Draco, clearly not wanting to have anything to do with an ex-Death Eater like him.

"Funny, isn't it? How the mighty has fallen. Look at the ferret, pathetic and miserable now." She remembered Ron said when he followed her line of sight. Hermione did not say anything, settling on rolling her eyes at how childish and petty the red head sounded.

The brunette almost choked on her own saliva when he suddenly looked up from his book and caught her staring. She quickly looked away and pretended to look around for a particular book on the shelves. She inwardly cringed at how awkward her acting was and she knew he saw right through her little charade. If her awful cover did not give her away, her flushed face would.

She discreetly threw a glance in his way to find out whether he was still looking at her. When she saw he had shifted his focus back to the book in front of him, she sighed in relief.

For the next five minutes Hermione was in a battle with herself on whether she should try to approach him. A part of her mind screamed in alarm about how stupid it would be to go near him, but another part of her that was too curious to see if he had truly changed convinced her to take a chance.

What's the worst that could happen? She tried to comfort herself as she slowly made her way towards him.

Draco looked up from his book when he heard the sound of the chair in front of him being pulled and was surprised when he saw that Hermione Granger had occupied the seat right across him. She offered him a small nervous smile as he stared at her in shock. It took him a few moments before registering what had happened and Hermione can finally sigh in relief when he gave her a small awkward smile.

He went back to read his book while Hermione started on a new book. They both sat in silence for the rest of the day, both engrossed in the words printed on their respective books until the librarian announced it was closing time.

They both gathered their own possessions and returned the books to their original places on the shelves. The male Slytherin and the female Gryffindor walked out of the library in silence, feeling rather awkward now that there were not any books to distract them.

Hermione was about to make her way to her dorm when Draco spoke, "Good night, Granger. I'll see you around?" He tried to feign nonchalance, but cringed instead when he found himself sounding a little too hopeful. He looked away, bracing himself for rejection from the girl, but he shifted his gaze back to her when he heard none.

She looked stunned and a for a few moments, she stared at him with her mouth slightly gaping. He was feeling uncomfortable and was about to make up an excuse to leave when she smiled at him with the most dazzling smile he had seen. "Sure, I'll see you around." Hermione turned to leave. She was a few steps away from him when she turned to him again. "Good night, Malfoy." She said as she threw another one of her dazzling smile at him, stunning him into complete silence for a minute.

He watched her back as she made her way to retreat into Gryffindor's dormitory for the night. When he no longer could see her, his lips stretched into the first genuine smile he had since the war.

His mind kept replaying her beautiful smile and he decided that he liked it a lot and he would make sure to make her smile more often.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione ran frantically through the empty hallway when she realized that she was late for Potions class with Professor Slughorn. She had been too immersed in a new book in the library during her previous free period and when she finally realized the time, she was already five minutes late.

She burst through the class door panting, ignoring the stares thrown her way by the occupants of the room as she struggled to catch her breath. "Sorry for being late, Professor. I was in the library and I lost track of time." She confessed rather sheepishly, earning snickers from her fellow Gryffindors. Slughorn only nodded in understanding and asked her to take a seat.

The brunette sighed as her eyes scanned over the room to find a seat. Almost all of them are occupied, save for some at the back next to a few Slytherins (she had not bother to know their names). She looked around the class again, trying to find other options that won't lead her to feel awkward through out the whole lesson. Her eyes fell on the seat next to a familiar blonde boy and she decided that sitting next to Draco Malfoy would be less awkward.

Hermione broke into cold sweat as she reluctantly made her way to him. She was nervous. Although Malfoy had been civil with her last night, she could not shake the feeling of doubt that settled in her chest. _What if he doesn't like others to see him being civil to her? What if he doesn't want to sit next to a **mudblood** like her? _ A voice whispered words of doubt in her mind.

She quickly pushed the thought away. To hell with it, she decided. She was a Gryffindor for Goodness' sake. She was not going to let her insecurities get the best of her. "Can I sit here?" She asked him with all the confidence she could muster, paying no heed to the gasps and murmurs around her. He stared at her in surprise for a few seconds. "Sure, I don't see why not." He shrugged, trying to sound casual. Hermione let out a breath she never knew she was holding before her face broke into a full out grin when she saw the ghost of a smile on his lips and a twinkle of amusement in his grey eyes.

Hermione immediately took out her quill and some paper as the Professor started the lesson.

" _Psst."_ The female Gryffindor's eyes roamed over the room to find the source of the sound. Her eyes landed on her two best friends sitting two rows away from her and Draco. It was Ron who was trying to get her attention. He looked like he was about to explode, face as red as his hair. She briefly looked at Harry. The black haired boy seemed calmer than Ron but he looked at her like she had grown a second head.

" _W_ _hat?"_ She mouthed to the red head. " _Why are you sitting next to the ferret? Are you crazy?"_ He mouthed back, arms flailing rather animatedly in frustration. Hermione rolled her eyes and chose to ignore him for the rest of the lesson no matter how many times her tried to get her attention back to him.

Throughout the whole lesson, Hermione occasionally threw glances at her sitting partner and watched him from the corner of her eyes when she thought he was not looking. She observed him quietly, noticing how much his appearance and demeanor had changed. He looked so much skinnier now, cheeks caved in due to the lack of flesh. His hair was no longer slicked with hair gel, choosing to leave it in a slightly messy and ruffled state. His grey eyes reflected sadness but it no longer held the desperation and terror she had seen during their 6th year, so she supposed it was a good thing. The look on the old Draco Malfoy practically screamed class and confidence, but this new version of him was the complete opposite. He looked more approachable and she could almost see the warmth in him when he smiled, every ounce of arrogance had left him. Hermione quickly looked away when his head slightly turned towards her.

Draco did not need to fully look at the brunette to know that she had been staring at him throughout the lesson. She had developed a habit of observing him lately. Yes, he noticed. He bit back a laugh when he realized she had been staring at him again. Hermione was not as discreet as she had thought, but he could not blame her. She was dealing with a Slytherin after all. Being sly and cunning was his forte.

He slightly turned towards her, but his eyes never left the piece of parchment in front of him and his hand was still furiously moving across the paper, jotting down notes. His lips curled into a mischievous smile and Hermione could feel dread crept up from the bottom of her heart when she saw it. "You know Granger, it's rude to stare. I mean, I know I'm handsome and all, but you've got to stop staring at me or else people are going to think you're infatuated with me. " He whispered so that only the two of them could hear. When he finally looked up to meet her eyes, he could not help but grin at her red face. "Arrogant prick." Hermione muttered under her breath.

Okay, maybe she made a mistake about him not being arrogant anymore.

He chuckled at her reaction and Hermione found herself in a trance. She had heard Draco Malfoy chuckled light-heartedly at her without any hint of malice in it. Her heartbeat sped up at an erratic pace and she could feel the blood rushing to her face.

Hermione quickly forced her gaze away from him when she realized that she had been staring at him for far too long. Draco cleared his throat, suddenly feeling rather awkward. Maybe he should not have teased her.

They both shifted their focus back to Slughorn, pretending to pay attention to the lesson.

When the lesson was finally over, Hermione rushed to gather her things, desperate to get out of this awkwardness. In her rush, she accidentally dropped her quill. She was about to bend down to retrieve it but Draco had beaten her to it. "Here." He handed her the object, with a boyish smirk present on his face. "Thanks." She replied quickly, not meeting his eyes.

Hermione made a move to leave the classroom when he called out to her, "See you around, Granger." "Uh, y-yeah. S-see you around, M-malfoy." The female Gryffindor mentally slapped herself for stuttering. Her face was red from the mortification. She heard him laugh lightly as she stepped out of the threshold of the class and she could not help but smile at the sound.

Hermione Granger decided she liked the sound Draco Malfoy's laugh. Maybe she should try to make him laugh more often.

Maybe.


End file.
